Yes I collect flashlights, that is a given. I like anything train and railroad related as well. I also collect calculators, watches, knives and various radios. Many people know that. However, what most people don’t know (not even my own family) is that I have also started collecting Matchbox Brand die cast cars. I had many of them as a child, but lost them growing up. What terrible is that many of those I had as a child have now appreciated (according to ebay), but I am unable to capitalize on them because they were lost.

I can fully explain why I have an interest in Matchbox cars and I can pin point what moment in my childhood made me develop an interest:
It was in August of 1990. I was three and three quarters years old. My mom, being a high school teacher was having open house. All of the teachers’ children were being baby sat in the school cafeteria, myself included. I guess I was just wandering around the cafeteria with my stuffed Pound Puppies dog,when suddenly the school principal, God rest his wonderful soul, handed me a box of 5 Matchbox cars from the year 1985 in mint condition. Talk about I was one happy little boy that evening. Those cars kept me amused for hours on end as a young child. My favorite vehicle in that pack was a yellow tow truck. There was just something about it, which caught my attention.

I know now that as of recent years Matchbox and Hot Wheels are now owned by the same company, but for whatever reason I prefer Matchbox over Hot Wheels. However in the 1980s and probably throughout the 1990s Matchbox and Hot Wheels were separate entities.
Fast forward to August of 1993. My mom had taught me how to read that previous summer and I learned quite well. So as a reward at the end of the summer she took me shopping and I got more Matchbox cars. But I think I also got Micro Machines and Hot Wheels cars as well. I was also a very happy little boy that day.

Throughout the rest of the 1990s I would buy a Matchbox car every now and then because I think they were about 67 Cents apiece at the time. They were only a couple of Dollars for a five pack.

By the age of twelve though I totally outgrew the hobby and focused more on video games and flashlights. By the age of fourteen I got into radios and by eighteen I got into knives and later watches. In my mid to late twenties I got into calculators (there’s going to be an essay on that topic as well, hopefully soon.)

At around age twenty eight (2015), I started collecting Matchbox cars again, buying a die cast Jeep on ebay.

Then in 2016 my local K-Mart was shutting down, so I scored a few Matchbox cars for 76 Cents apiece on clearance. One of them was an EMS unit. The ironic part is that would have been the normal sale price in the 1990s.

Yesterday, March 22 2017, while waiting for some medicine to be filled at my local CVS, I was looking around and saw some Matchbox Cars in a five pack. I did not buy them, because, unfortunately, CVS sells many non-medicinal items way above their MSRP. However it prompted me to get on my smartphone and look at ebay while waiting for my prescriptions to be filled. I looked for that tow truck I had mentioned earlier and saw one up for bid. The starting price was $4.99. Hurriedly, I bid $8.00. I had seen that two truck sell for much more in the past. Luckily I was the sole bidder, which meant that when the auction ended a few minutes ago, I won it for $4.99 plus $3.89 to ship it. Yes, some ebayers charge and arm and a leg to ship, but again, I paid only $8.88 for itwhen I’ve seen them cost much more. Besides, it’s my favorite Matchbox vehicle ever made.

So I’m gradually beginning my interest in Matchbox. I’m picky about what to collect though. I only want either modern-day models that are in mint condition or gently used models from the 1980s and 1990s from when I was a child. My collection is quite modest at the moment, but who knows, one day it might grow.

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